Mothers’ Milk: A Modern Dilemma

Nature’s perfect food, breast milk, helps growing infants develop resilient immune systems. But along with the welcome antibodies are the persistent toxins mother may have ingested in her lifetime, which are stored in her fatty tissue and passed on to her baby. In 1996 reporter Andrea DeLeon was the nursing mother of a newborn. Her story on the toxins in breast milk won an award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Living on Earth re-airs the story and talks with Dr. Linda Birnbaum, head of the Experimental Toxicology Division at the EPA, for an update on what’s in mother’s milk today.